On Jan. 21, 2003, the ISU men’s basketball team left the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo., with a 64-59 loss, their fourth in four conference games. Little did the Cyclones know the road trip would eventually cost them their head coach.

Larry Eustachy was ousted from Iowa State after Missouri student Sean Devereaux distributed pictures of Eustachy partying and kissing college women at a student’s apartment after the Cyclone loss.

Missouri’s crowd is known to be rowdy — especially its student section, dubbed the Antlers — so don’t think for a minute they’ll let Iowa State forget about the scandal when the Cyclones meet the Tigers on Wednesday in Columbia.

“Their crowd is really going to be ready to get after us,” ISU center Jared Homan said. “I think they’re going to be hyped up from the whole Larry deal; they always have had a tremendous crowd.”

ISU newcomer Damion Staple hasn’t experienced the Tiger enthusiasts first hand, but he’s been well informed.

“I’ve been hearing stories about the Missouri crowd,” Staple said. “I don’t know what it’s like. I just have to go down there and push the crowd out and play my best. [The crowd] doesn’t affect me; I just go there and play the game.”

Iowa State, Missouri and Colorado are all tied for sixth place in the Big 12 with 5-5 conference records going into Wednesday’s matchup.

The Cyclones (14-7) are riding high after a 78-77 upset against No. 11 Texas Saturday, while Missouri (11-10) comes into the game after trouncing UNLV 94-60 Sunday.

Homan said Missouri’s victory over UNLV was big for the Tigers, who have been playing without the services of freshman forward Linas Kleiza. Kleiza underwent season-ending surgery Tuesday after dislocating his right shoulder Jan. 28. He was averaging 11.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game for the Tigers.

“[Missouri] played really well [against UNLV]. I watched a lot of it,” Homan said. “I think their inside players are playing tremendously right now. They got a ton of offensive rebounds in that game and really scored a lot. They’re playing well with the absence of Kleiza; the other guys are really stepping up.”

Missouri head coach Quin Snyder said the Cyclones aren’t an “anomaly” — they’re a good team aided by the development of their big men.

“[Jackson] Vroman and Homan are as good as any two big guys in our league, or in the country for that matter,” Snyder said during Monday’s Big 12 teleconference. “Those two guys are 6-foot-9 and 6-foot-10; they run the floor, are extremely skilled, play tough and are talented.”

Snyder said the Cyclones come at opponents with a balanced attack.

“I think [Vroman and Homan] anchor them,” Snyder said. “Then to have two guards come in like [Will] Blalock and [Curtis] Stinson, as gifted as players as they are, and Jake [Sullivan]’s there still knocking down big shots. They’re a team that has really good chemistry.”

Iowa State started the Big 12 season Jan. 7 with a 70-65 victory over Missouri with a lot of help from Stinson. Stinson scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half.

Snyder said Stinson’s scoring was what spelled trouble for the Tigers in the first matchup.

“[Stinson] beat us. With two minutes to go, we had a lead and he just came down and scored every time,” Snyder said. “You don’t see guys do that as freshmen in this league that often, and he’s done that to a lot of people. He’s even better when the game is on the line.”

Against Texas, ISU head coach Wayne Morgan mixed up the starting lineup, beginning the game with Damion Staple and John Neal instead of regulars Jared Homan and Will Blalock.

Morgan said he’s not against switching things up again.

“We will determine [who will start] in these two days of practice,” Morgan said. “Those top seven guys will vie for those five spots.”

The victory over Texas put Iowa State back into the driver’s seat of its postseason destiny, and Morgan said with the win, the team’s spirits have been lifted.

“I think we feel better than we felt before the Texas game. [After] losing three games in a row nobody was feeling well,” Morgan said.